Overwhelmed

O.k., I'm way overwhelmed and discouraged this morning!!! Erin is entering teens and is starting with the attitude that she knows all. She expects everything from her younger siblings and does not talk nice to them - it's about to drive me mad! I don't know how to handle it, apparently, because nothing I've said has sunk in over the last 4 years!!! She is such a great young woman, but I can's stand the constant tension and mean corrections on all of us. I love it when we are just sharing and talking and enjoying them, instead. And, Laura is at an incredibly emotional stage - she accidently tore a little bit of a page in a library book yesterday and came unglued - all I was was supportive, so I'm not sure what was going on! I finally had to just walk away. This morning she fell apart over missing Fit City again for her Dance Recital this Saturday - the dance recital we've been preparing for (and paying for) all year! And, Talin is in his bed because he just won't stop crying. Kelcie's got the 3-yr. old attitude going, and wants so badly to play with friends. Then, scheduling alone may make me lose my mind - AHHHHH! Baseball games, dance, Spring Sing, Mutual camp meeting, preschool, meetings with "people", visiting teaching, keep the house clean - or just try to GET it clean, and oh, I have a lesson to teach in 2 weeks! And, I'm sure I say the wrong things to my kids all the time, like this morning - " I'm just done with kids this morning!" - that probably builds positive self-image, don't ya think? And, I need to lose some weight and excercise, but I seriously can't figure out when to do it. And, stress makes me want a treat - that works against me. Well, sorry no picture and such a depressing post, but I need to vent! But, now I've got to got try - AGAIN - to get Talin to eat some breakfast.

Scottsdale Resort and Villas

I am going away with my husband for a romantic evening at this place tonight - Hooray!!! Lafe has a convention in Scottsdale this week, so I'll meet him there tonight for a little get-away. Of course, Talin woke up with a little croup, but we're hoping it's not a big deal. It's always so hard for me to leave the kids because it's so hard for me to get ready for it. The kids will be fine, I just worry about all the logistics of running the family, you know? It's just easier for me to do it. But, we need a chance to get away, and once I'm gone I'm fine, so wish me luck.

Sunday Treat

O.k., so I wanted another Sunday treat (I've really got to start exercising!), and I decided it would be fun to share. Sorry, no picture this time. And, April - you've already got it - thanks, our family will never be the same!

Cup-a cup-a

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup light karo syrup
2 9-10 oz. bags of Fritos

Combine first 3 ingred. in saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour over Fritos, stir, and lay out on cookie sheet to cool. Enjoy!

SO GOOD! When Lafe came home from April's in Kansas with this idea, I thought he was crazy, but we love it! So, we're spreading the joy... Oh, and Cindy - come visit and we'll send the kids somewhere outside or something so you can try it :)

Talin's 1 yr. old pictures

I took Talin to get his 1 yr. old pictures today. He was a little apprehensive, but he ended up doing pretty good. We had to take a break and walk around to get the last two, but I really like them, so it was worth it. My sweet boy:

General Conference

178th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints

Yesterday and Today we listened to Conference. I think my favorite session was Sunday afternoon. I don't know if maybe it was because Talin was asleep for most of it, but it just seemed like I listened and really understood more of the talks from that session. I loved Pres. Monson's talk in the Sunday morning session. I never questioned his calling as our new Prophet and President of the church, and I didn't expect or need an overwhelming testament of him being called of God to that position. But, during his talk, at one point it was distinctly different - it was really hard to place words to it and I've tried all afternoon to try and describe it. He has always been a great animated speaker and I've always loved him for his stories and how down to earth he was and seemed to understand everday life. Today, at that time, he seemed to be commanding in appearance or position. Command was the word that immediately came to mind and I couldn't place in my mind what was so incredibly different. It was so different - it was a testimony to me that he was a Prophet and now the President of our church. I thought maybe I was just imagining, or making more of a more subdued talk of his, but then when Jeffrey R. Holland spoke of the mantel descending upon Pres. Monson, I knew I was not the only one who had both seen and heard this change - wonderful change. In some ways it made me view him differently - which is precisely what is supposed to happen. I testify that Pres. Monson is a man of God and has been called to be a latter-day Prophet for the world. I know he can and will guide us and lead us as a church and the world, if they will hear him. I am so grateful that I have the Gospel and a testimony of it in my life. I'm grateful that I know what to teach my children. I'm grateful for the sacrifices that Joseph Smith and the early leaders of the church as well as my own ancestors made for me and the world to have this Gospel. This Conference made me want to study more earnestly to KNOW the Gospel and understand it better spiritually.

Jamie's Birthday!

It's Jamie's Birthday today!!! She's nine today! Lafe was on-call this morning so we had to wake her up a little early so he could watch her open her presents.

We love Jamie - she is such a happy kid! Always singing (much to the dismay of her older siblings) and is at such a helpful age. She loves dance and singing and is our social butterfly - that kid can make a friend at McDonald's in 1 minute flat! ( that actually happened when she was about 2 or 3 years old. It never matters to her to know their name, though) She's our little Missouri baby and sometimes I tell people she was our recessive baby - lefthanded, blond(er), blue (now green) eyes. We love Jamie. Happy Birthday, Jamie!

Honor Band

Erin's Honor Band concert was last night and they did such a good job - what a GREAT concert! They were so GREAT! This isn't a great picture because it was outside the Mesa Arts Center and it was dark, but I had to blog it! She was so happy and just beamed up there.

Correction

O.k., apparently she wasn't done - we now have TEN PUPPIES!!!!!!!!!! Laura was telling me she kept counting ten, but I thought she just counted one twice for head and tail. But, then Ethan came home and said the same thing, so I went in and counted them 3 times! I have no idea when that last one was born! I think it was probably when we were getting everybody off to school. Can you believe 10!?! I can't believe it.

PUPPIES!

Dixie was due to have puppies yesterday, but she usually goes over a couple days, so I really wasn't expecting her to have them yet. But, yesterday she was showing signs, and further into the afternoon we realized it was serious (wet spot after home teachers left). So, we stayed by her side and the first puppy was born at 8:45 last night and the last one was born at 6:15 this morning. How many - NINE PUPPIES!!!!!!!!! Lafe thought she was done at 8, but then Erin came in this morning and asked why one of them still looked like it was in the sac - we rushed in and, sure enough there was another! She had left it uncleaned to go outside, so we ran it out to her and she quickly took care of it and brought it back it - phew! They are beautiful puppies - all very close in size, unlike last time (baby vs. goliath) and I'm just watching them close to make sure they can all eat. I'll post pictures when I get a chance to get the whole group together. I can't believe she had 9!

Pinewood Derby!

It's that time of year again! Ethan had such a cool idea for his design this year! He came up with the skateboard idea all by himself. It still didn't win, but it won the coolest driver award! It's our last Pinewood Derby - for 7 years.

Easter

Happy Easter!!!

We colored Easter Eggs yesterday - here are some examples! When I was a kid I always wanted to color LOTS, so now I get the 5-dozen pack at Sam's Club so the kids can do 8 each (some broke in the boiling process). It doesn't sound like a lot, but it's lots of fun. Needless to say we had boiled eggs for breakfast and we will have deviled eggs for dinner!

All dressed up in Easter Clothes for Church - sorry, the sun was bright and in their eyes. Talin doesn't have shoes on because he didn't go to church today (possibly contagious, remember? - too many tiny babies in our ward)

Talin is 1 year old today!!!

It's Talin's Birthday!!! Yeah!!!!!

It's so hard to believe my baby is one! He's so fun!

We had so much fun celebrating his birthday! Because he might be contagious (pre-chickenpox possibility) we just had grandparents over for breakfast and cake. He loved it!

Funny Talin

Talin is so fun and I just wanted to put on some funny pictures of him this week: Jamie put her spikey hat on him - he didn't really care for that much.

Talin playing Tennis on the Wii - he was cracking up! It was so funny!

Talin LOVES the sandbox right now - I think he's my only kid that didn't try to eat it first -although he was SCARED TO DEATH of it for quite a while. It's so cute to watch him play in it.

Spring Break!!!

It's Spring Break this week - which is now almost over! We were going to go camping, but after the quit trip for the funeral and the chicken pox episode, Lafe and I were really tired and decided it would be better just to do some fun things around here. So, first we went to SKATELAND!!! We had a good time! We left Talin with a young girl in our ward while he was down for a nap -he never knew we were gone- Yahoo! At Skateland the skates and the floor are really slippery, so it takes some getting used to. Laura was doing really well by the time we left, and Kelcie tried so hard ( she's never skated before). Ethan was just mad because they kept playing games he couldn't play, like only backwards skating, the dice game, etc. and he didn't like the LOUD music. I loved it because it took me right back to the 70s when I went there as a little girl! Only, they've lightened it up - so glad! It was always so dark in there, and even as a little girl it felt uncomfortable to me. So, I'd help the kids, and then I'd drop them for a quick run around a couple laps. Worth using the free tickets!

Then, we went to a drive-in movie to see: Horton Hears a Who! It was cute! Talin wasn't too sure about the whole drive-in experience, but it was still fun. Ethan and Lafe stayed for the second movie, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and they said they really liked it. Neither of them have read the books, so they had no idea what it was about. Sometimes, you like them better that way.

Next, we did the kids' most exciting thing! We did this last year because I was DUE to have a baby and we couldn't go anywhere, and it's been such a great memory - we've heard about it for a year. So, we decided to do it again.

It's so fun! Both Grandmas came with us and made one, too! So, here's what the kids got:

Erin got a monkey (Cocoa), Talin got a cute long-eared puppy (Scruffy), Jamie got an orange tabby cat (Lacy), Ethan got a ground-hog dressed in Karate clothes (Chang), Kelcie got a Pink Sparkle Bear dressed in Snow Princess complete with a wand (Angel), and Laura got the Chick (Suzie). It's so fun to see what they choose! Someday I'm going to do it myself!

Update

Well, Ethan is ALL better. He had maybe 20 pox and was done and able to come out Monday morning - 4 days, not bad! I actually think he was all scabbed on Sunday, except this one on his finger, which it turns out wasn't a chicken pox. Thank goodness for the shot! Now, we're just watching Talin - I'll have to let you know. He turns one on Saturday and his appt. is on Monday where he gets the shot.

Chicken Pox

So, Ethan has the Chicken Pox. He did have the shot, so it's a lighter case. I figure he was up for the booster and he was directly exposed the day after he had strep - so immune was probably low. A kid in band came on the band field trip and sat next to Ethan on the bus and told him "I have the early stages of Chicken Pox" - so infuriating!!!!! That means his mom knew he had it and sent him anyways! But, oh well. Nothing we can do about that. All the girls have had the shot and the booster, now. Talin was a week and a half away from getting the shot. We've kept the two separate (poor Ethan is quarantined to his room), but I'm not sure it will help because it's SO contagious and it's most contagious right before they get the rash. We'll see what happens!

Dancing Girls

Laura and Kelcie had a little performance at an elementary school this weekend. These are their dances 2 months before their real Recital - I thought they did great for not being quite ready. Sorry, they're kind-of long - I don't have any editing software to crop them.

Kelcie's stopped right before the tapping part. And my favorite part isn't on here - where they march really fast in place - it's SO cute!

Sunday Treats

We were making a Sunday Evening Treat and the overwhelming vote was for:

NO-BAKE COOKIES (aka chocolate oatmeal cookies, aka "poop" cookies)

Isn't Lafe so sweet to pose nicely for this picture of our fun dessert so I could blog it? So innocent and sweet.....(notice the spoon behind his back) he couldn't wait for them to set up!

Talin Poppy

I was playing with Talin with the poppy thing and he would just LAUGH and LAUGH!!! It was so funny. Then we tried it on his head and he thought that was really funny, until he decided it kind-of hurt. He loves that poppy thing!

Cedar City

This weekend we headed for Cedar City, Utah for my grandfather's funeral. Here we go! The funeral was so nice, and it was so fun to see all my extended family again. While we were up there we decided to let the kids enjoy the snow.



Ethan's triumph over the sled?


Erin biffing it!

The kids found the hole/fort that was so cool! It was all dug out and iced inside.

Lafe and Ethan having a snowball fight.

This is how Talin felt about the whole thing -he was so tired! Not much chance for naps on trips like this.

Talin helping me pack up to go home.